


the one where flynn offers to drive

by hi_hello_hey_there



Series: you don't have to say i love you (to say i love you) [1]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Declarations of Gratitude, Flynn is an Absolute Gem of a Human, Gen, How Do I Tag, Nighttime Drives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:41:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26690821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hi_hello_hey_there/pseuds/hi_hello_hey_there
Summary: “Pull over. Let me drive for awhile.”
Relationships: Flynn & Ray Molina
Series: you don't have to say i love you (to say i love you) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1942267
Comments: 33
Kudos: 264





	the one where flynn offers to drive

This particular gig was one of their best, if Flynn did say so herself. The boys’ playing was electric and Julie’s voice was angelic as usual. They had even featured a new song starring Alex’s voice that made the audience wild.

When their set was finished and the band had taken their bows, the boys disappearing into thin air, Julie gave a final wave and sprinted off stage. Flynn could’ve sworn she felt something behind her when Julie rocked into her open arms, jumping and squealing like she did after every performance.

“You killed it out there! Not that that’s anything new.” Flynn holds her best friend at arm’s length to bask in her post-show glow and give her a smile.

“Thank you,” Julie says, crowding in for another hug. There’s a moment of silence when she pulls away as she looks up and just past Flynn, her eyes locking on three distinct spots. “The guys say thanks, too.” Okay, maybe she did feel something.

Flynn turns around with a smile for them, feeling just a tad foolish talking to empty air. “You were amazing!” She brandishes her phone. “Got some great new BTS footage, too. I can’t wait to see what your dad got from the audience.”

“Me, either.” Julie loops her arm through Flynn’s as they make their way back to the green room to wait for Mr. Molina and Carlos, a member of the tech crew intercepting them with the prop projector. Flynn supposes that’s the beauty of being a roadie for a band comprised mostly of ghosts. Back in the green room, they sit and talk and laugh. Flynn shows Julie some of the video she’d gotten of their performance and Julie would translate a comment from one of the boys every so often. By the time her dad and brother got back to them, Julie looked ready to drop. She had stayed up late last night to study for a calculus exam and the exertion of all the day’s activities had clearly taken a toll.

“Ready to go, girls?” Mr. Molina had a hand securely holding the camera around his neck and the other gripping Carlos’s shoulder and seemingly keeping him upright, the boy looking just as tired as his sister.

Julie simply nods and makes a grabby hand at Flynn, signaling she wants hoisted off the couch they had been sitting on. “Oh, so you want me to do everything, huh?” She laughs as she says it, automatically going to help her best friend. Once she’s up, Julie doesn’t let go of Flynn’s hand, rather using it as a guide as the exit the building and make their way down the block to the parking garage they had left the car in. She leans on Flynn during the elevator ride up and Flynn practically carries her the rest of the way to the car, the scuffs of her sneakers echoing loudly in the vast emptiness of the garage.

There’s something familiar in the moon and stars’ shine filtered through the harsh, clinical light of the garage’s fluorescents. A breeze blows through the openings in the walls, bringing with it the scent of street vendors’ food and the distant sounds of the concert they had left. Normally, they would stay to see the band Julie and the Phantoms opened for, but this particular venue is a little ways away from their usual stomping grounds and it’s already late, evidenced by both Molina children trying and failing to stop the yawns from falling out of their mouths.

“In you go,” Flynn hears Mr. Molina say as he boosts his son into the backseat of the car, she doing the same for Julie and coercing her to latch her seatbelt. Not ten seconds later, the two of them had flopped towards each other, sound asleep between one blink of an eye and the next.

If Flynn takes a picture to lord over Julie later, then that’s nobody’s business but her own.

~ ~ ~

They’re halfway through the two hour drive back to LA when Mr. Molina yawns for the first time. A few moments later, it’s followed by another and a squinty eyed look at the road in front of them. Flynn remembers about this time a year ago when the Molinas were in the thick of it all, grieving for a lost mother and wife, taking care of her belongings, and keeping up with work and school. From Flynn’s point of view, it was like seeing her second family trying to keep their heads above water, desperate to stay afloat lest the current of sorrow drag them under. She did all she could, from bringing dinners and homework to doing laundry and cleaning to simply holding Julie while she sobbed or, even worse, stayed completely silent, practically catatonic, as the time pressed on around them. Flynn did her best to keep their world from imploding any further.

So it’s only second nature when she says, **“Pull over. Let me drive for awhile.”** Mr. Molina gives her a look, face halfway contorted into another yawn but hijacked by surprise. “You know I have my license,” she assures, thinking that’s the reason for his shock.

It takes him a moment to respond, clearly on the way to falling asleep just like his children. “Are you sure?” The words come out slow and slurred, a sure sign he shouldn’t be driving right now.

“Yeah. I’m wide awake. Couldn’t sleep even if I wanted to.” Flynn taps her fingers on the door as Mr. Molina navigates to the next berm in the road, flipping on the hazard lights and blearily climbing out of the driver’s seat to switch with Flynn. She adjusts the seat and the mirrors when she climbs in, taking a moment to stretch out before settling in for the next stretch of the trip. She signals back into the lane and gets the back up to speed, eyes occasionally falling to Julie and Carlos in the back, still sleeping like babies.

The world is almost silent around them save for the soft, even breathing of the Molinas and the sound of tires on the road beneath them. Flynn, for the life of her, can’t remember a time where she was driving without listening to music, so instead she lowers the window a bit, the nighttime chill seeping in along with the melody of cars whipping past, the music from them spilling out in small snippets, and the occasional  _ thump-thump  _ when the tires hit a new patch of pavement. She breathes in deep, the bite of the wind nipping at her cheeks.

When they finally get to their exit ramp forty-five minutes later, Flynn hits a speedbump a little harder than she intends to, making Mr. Molina shift into a new position, his eyes open slightly. It startles Flynn when he speaks in a hushed tone, “I don’t think I ever said thank you.”

Once she gets her heart back on track, she replies, “There’s no need. I don’t mind driving.”

“That’s not what I mean.” When Flynn shoots him a slightly confused look, he continues. “Last year, you were always there for us. Not just Julie, but me and Carlos, too. If you hadn’t been there- I don’t like to think about what could’ve happened to them. Julie might have withdrawn even more and Carlos… but you were always willing to help with dinner or homework or baseball practice and I never said anything about it. So thank you, Flynn. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Flynn struggles to keep the tightness in her throat from rising any further, allowing one single tear to slip down her face before she clears her throat and tries to make a witty retort. What she actually says is, “You would do just fine. You’re a great dad, practically my second father, so I couldn’t just stand by and watch it happen.” The sincerity swells in her chest so threateningly that she tacks on, “You would do the same for me.” When she doesn’t get an answer, she sneaks a glance at Mr. Molina. He’s looking at her, eyes glassy with unshed tears. He simply nods and readjusts himself to be sitting forward. He reaches for the radio knob, an 80s rock radio softly spilling from the speakers as she finishes the ten minute drive to the Molina’s.

She sits there for a minute, mindlessly reaching for the keys to kill the ignition while Mr. Molina delicately scoops up Carlos and walks him to the front door. Flynn watches as he balances his son on his hip and feels along the doorframe for the spare key and letting himself in. She doesn’t know where the guys have gone or if they’ve been sitting in the car the whole time, but she lets a few tears flow. She knows that the Molinas were grateful, of course she knows, but hearing how much impact she had really touched her. Flynn allows herself another moment before she drags the heels of her hands across her face and climbs out of the car, going around the other side to gently wake Julie and grab her overnight bag before supporting her into the house, locking the car and the front door behind them. The trip up the stairs is nearly treacherous but they finally make it to Julie’s room. She coerces her to remove her contacts and to get out of her concert clothes and into some pajamas before changing herself and crawling into bed beside her best friend.

The time must have finally caught up to her because she yawns, long and loud, as her head hits the pillow. She nestles in close to her best friend, the smell of Julie’s shampoo surrounding her and the earnestness of Mr. Molina’s declaration warming her from head to toe as she succumbs to sleep, a tiny smile on her face and a great, gigantic love for these people in her heart.

**Author's Note:**

> This prompt comes from a list called One Hundred Ways to Say I Love You ([here](https://p0ck3tf0x.tumblr.com/post/98502010026/one-hundred-ways-to-say-i-love-you)) and I want to work my way through all of them. I have no idea what to do, though, so if you'd like to request one of the prompts or maybe give me a premise to work with, that would be awesome! You can either drop a comment here or send an ask on tumblr (I'm more likely to see ones on main) if you've got something. Thanks for reading!
> 
> main: [hi-hello-hey-there](https://hi-hello-hey-there.tumblr.com/)  
> side: [toziers-token](https://toziers-token.tumblr.com/)
> 
> love, blue


End file.
